Dictionary.com

ethics

[ eth-iks ]
/ ˈɛθ ɪks /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR ethics ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

(used with a singular or plural verb) a system of moral principles: the ethics of a culture.
(used with a plural verb) the rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or a particular group, culture, etc.: medical ethics; Christian ethics.
(used with a plural verb) moral principles, as of an individual: His ethics forbade betrayal of a confidence.
(used with a singular verb) that branch of philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions.Compare axiological ethics, deontological ethics.

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Origin of ethics

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English ethic + -s3, modeled on Greek tà ēthiká, neuter plural

synonym study for ethics

2. See moral.

Words nearby ethics

ethical investment, ethical relativism, ethical will, ethicist, ethicize, ethics, ethinamate, ethine, ethinyl estradiol, ethion, ethionamide
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

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Words related to ethics

honesty, mores, goodness, integrity, ethic, conduct, ideal, imperative, convention, ethos, conscience, belief, nature, practice, standard, decency, morality, value, honor, criteria

Example sentences from the Web for ethics

British Dictionary definitions for ethics

ethics
/ (ˈɛθɪks) /

noun

(functioning as singular) the philosophical study of the moral value of human conduct and of the rules and principles that ought to govern it; moral philosophySee also meta-ethics
(functioning as plural) a social, religious, or civil code of behaviour considered correct, esp that of a particular group, profession, or individual
(functioning as plural) the moral fitness of a decision, course of action, etche doubted the ethics of their verdict

Derived forms of ethics

ethicist, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for ethics

ethics
[ ĕth′ĭks ]

n.

The rules or standards governing the conduct of a person or the conduct of the members of a profession.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Cultural definitions for ethics

ethics

The branch of philosophy that deals with morality. Ethics is concerned with distinguishing between good and evil in the world, between right and wrong human actions, and between virtuous and nonvirtuous characteristics of people.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.